I’m lucky to live on the swampy end of a small lake. Across the road from my house is an even smaller vernal pond–a temporary pool that usually dries up in August. The traffic on the road this time of year is busy with turtles and frogs traveling from pond to lake. We keep an […]

Welcome to the 2021 KidLit Progressive Poem, a wonderful National Poetry Month tradition started by Irene Latham, and now organized by Margaret Simon. The poem is created over the course of the month as it moves from blog to blog, growing a line a day. For the second year in a row, writers offer two […]

It’s that time of year when migrating ducks stop on our little lake for a day or two before heading farther north. On Sunday afternoon the spouse noticed a few diving ducks. I headed down to the dock and counted five red-breasted mergansers. They were too far away to try to photograph but the sun […]

My project for National Poetry Month is to give a little love and attention to my long-neglected blog. I’m planning to write and post some seasonal poems each Friday, mostly inspired by what’s going on in my neck of the woods. Today I’m sharing a poem that I wrote on March 1st for Vivian Kirkfield’s […]

Happy Poetry Friday! I’m delighted to be your host today. Mr. Linky is in charge of the links for this week’s posts, so please add your link below. I’ve got a special treat to offer today. Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell are joining me to talk about the making of their newest poetry anthology, HOP […]

I’m sure many of you share my anxiety about the upcoming election. I admit to obsessively checking polls and waking up in the middle of the night, worrying about the election’s outcome and fearing for the state of our democracy (and our climate, our health, our children’s future…) My vote has been cast for weeks, […]

My oh my–what a treat to get an early peek at Irene Latham’s new book, This Poem is a Nest! Are you a fan of found poems? Of nature poems? Of clever puzzles? Of delicious language? Of Irene Latham’s poetry? I can answer yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes. But even if you have fewer […]

Happy Nikki Grimes Day for Poetry Friday! Nikki’s books have won many well-deserved awards recently, but she hasn’t been able to receive these awards in person due to Covid-19. So Irene Latham, today’s Poetry Friday host, suggested that we hold a virtual celebration for Nikki. As I thought about how to join this celebration, I […]

This is the time of year when nature is in a hurry. Every day a new flower blooms, every day the canopy of leaves grows. I’ve been spending a lot of time outside with the hound and my camera, taking in the feast. Over at Today’s Little Ditty, Margaret Simon challenged us to write poems […]

Poem in Your Pocket Day is April 30. Here’s a #pocketpoem that I wrote last year, now with a photo illustration. Are those really Oreo cookie crumbs? In a pandemic, we resort to substitutions. Wishing you a pocketful of poetry today!